Malabar Headland – 16 December 2020

Posted on December 16, 2020 by Dave Noble

I made a quick visit to Malabar Headland National Park this morning. I had checked the weather forecast the evening before and it looked like the morning would be fine and the afternoon wet. I should have checked the forecast in the morning before I set off. It turned out to be the other way around – a wet morning and a finer afternoon. Nevertheless it was still quite nice in the conditions.

I did carry a bird camera – but did not use it at all. At one time, near Boora Point, I did spot a Peregrine Falcon flying towards Magic Point art high speed. Continue reading →

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Cooks River Birds Update – 15 December 2020

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Dave Noble

I made a quick visit to the Cooks River to check the status of some of the local birds.

The first stop was to check a Magpie Lark nest. On previous visits I had seen an adult bird sitting on the nest. Now I could see two chicks. Continue reading →

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Birds at Emu Green – 14 December 2020

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Dave Noble

I spent an interesting day at Emu Green at Emu Plains photographing the birds. Like pries trips I was looking for Emu Wrens, and also like most previous trips I did not spot any. But lots of other nice birds still made for a good day.

On the walk to Emu Green from the station, I looked out for the Whistling Kite nest. I spotted the nest but it looked to be abandoned. Continue reading →

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Coxs River Christmas Walk 12 – 13 December 2020

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Dave Noble

It was nice to attend the Sydney University Bushwalkers Christmas Walk to the Coxs River last weekend. The year before things were quite different with bushfires raging nearby, the walk was changed from the Coxs River to Sassafras Gully. So it was nice to return to the sculptured granite of the Coxs River.

I travelled up with Roger, and on the way, we stopped off at Narrow Neck at Katoomba to look for pink Flannel Flowers. We soon found some.

But we only found individual flowers rather than a dense mat which I have seen in previous years. But there were a lot of buds – so more will flower very soon. Continue reading →

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Birdwatching at Taren Point Shorebird Reserve, Quibray Bay and The Cooks River – 10 December 2020

Posted on December 15, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was a nice day out with friends Valerie, Sue and Deb. We started out at the Shorebird Reserve at Taren Point.

We saw a number of birds there, including a Striated Heron and a pair of Bar-tailed Godwits. Continue reading →

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Claustral Canyon – 9 December 2020

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was my first trip down Claustral Canyon for nearly two years – it was good to be back! Its one canyon I try and visit every season, but bushfires had prevented a visit the pervious summer. I have to admit though, that I recently visited Ranon Brook Canyon, which has a long section in common with Claustral Canyon. Both Ranon and Claustral are very fine canyons and it is hard to decide which is better. I think I marginally prefer Claustral.

My previous trip down Claustral had been an overnight photographic trip with Albert in February 2019. It had been great on that trip to have plenty of time to set up cameras and tripods and enjoy the changing light and atmosphere of the canyon. On a day trip – you tend to walk faster, and you don’t like slowing the party down. Continue reading →

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Mudlarks Bird Survey and More Cooks River Birds – 8 December 2020

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Dave Noble

I spent a nice morning on the Cooks River. It was an early start with the Mudlarks – for the monthly bird survey. This time we surveyed the birds downstream from the new Lang Street Bridge – down to the bridge across to the Golf Course, then back up past Wave Rock and back to Ewan Park for morning tea. After morning tea, I joined Valerie for a look at the local Tawny Frogmouths.

The survey went well. There are some of the birds we saw – Continue reading →

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Nurragingy Reserve – 7 December 2020

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Dave Noble

This was another very pleasant day spent at Nurraging Reserve at Doonside indulging in some bird photography. A hot day was forecast, so I started out early and stayed till about 2 pm.

I saw a good range of birds during my visit. Two species I always hope to see at Nurragingy are Azure Kingfishers and Blue-faced Honeyeaters. I didn’t see any of the honeyeaters, and I had a fleeting glimpse of an Azure Kingfisher – but didn’t manage to get a photo. But despite this, I was delighted to see a lot of other nice birds. When I arrived, I could hear the call of a Sacred Kingfisher. It was in the same place I had seen a pair on an earlier trip, and sure enough, there were two perched close together. Continue reading →

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Kangaroo Creek Walk – 6 December 2020

Posted on December 11, 2020 by Dave Noble

It was going to be a hot day. A walked to some nice swimming holes in Royal National Park seemed like a good idea – so I did not hesitate to join friends for this activity. The plan was to walk from Heathcote, down to the Karloo Pool in Royal National Park, then continue downstream to the Olympic Pool.

In the party were Enmoore, Su Li, Brent, Martin, Steffy, John, Chuin Nee, Jasper, Sebastian and myself. Continue reading →

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Malabar Headland and the Cooks River – 4 December 2020

Posted on December 5, 2020 by Dave Noble

I had been to Malabar Headland two days earlier, and that trip had been reasonable. Valerie and Sue were keen to see how the juvenile Peregrine Falcons were going, as  they had not seen them since they had just fledged. I was happy to make another visit as I knew they would not be around for very long.

Well, as it turned out, we did not see any of the Peregrine Falcons – neither the juveniles nor their parents. Although at one stage we all thought we had heard one calling. As the chicks get older their flying improves and they range further and further away from the nest area. I think they all still roost near the nest, and they may rest and fly in that area if conditions are suitable. But, it also could be the time for the juveniles to leave home? Continue reading →

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